- (a) the claim shall be submitted, in the case of a claim for the release of the vessel, by the owner or licensee of the vessel and, in the case of a claim for the release of any property on board the vessel, by the person who is the owner or otherwise entitled to the possession of the property in question; and
- (b) the claim shall be submitted within the period and at the place specified in the notice.
(2) If a claim is submitted to the Director for the release of a vessel that is the subject of a notice served under section 16(6) or for the release of any property on board the vessel, and if the Director is satisfied that the claim is submitted in accordance with the requirements set out in subsection (1) and that the action specified in the notice under section 16(8)(g) in respect of the vessel or the property in question, as the case may be, has been carried out, then the Director shall release the vessel or the property in question, as the case may be, to the claimant.
18. Sale of detained vessels, etc.
(1) If a vessel that is the subject of a notice served under section 16(6) is not released pursuant to section 17(2), the Director may sell the vessel by public auction or otherwise as he thinks fit.
(2) The proceeds of sale of a vessel sold under subsection (1), after deducting all expenses incurred as a result of or in connection with the seizure, removal, detention and sale of the vessel, shall be paid to the owner of the vessel if he claims them within 1 year after the date of the sale, or forfeited to the Government if the owner of the vessel does not claim them within that period.
(3) A vessel that the Director is unable to sell under subsection (1) may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the Director thinks fit.
(4) If any property on board a vessel that is the subject of a notice served under section 16(6) is not released pursuant to section 17(2), such property shall become the property of the Government free from the rights of any person and may be disposed of by the Director as he thinks fit.
19. Appeals
(1) Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Director—
- (a) to specify any condition in a licence under section 3(5);
- (b) to make any amendment or addition to the conditions specified in a licence under section 3(6);
- (c) to refuse to renew a licence under section 4(3)(b);
